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Related Concept Videos

Electron Microscope Tomography and Single-particle Reconstruction01:07

Electron Microscope Tomography and Single-particle Reconstruction

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) can be used to determine the 3D structure of biological samples with the help of techniques such as electron microscope tomography and single-particle reconstruction. While single-particle reconstruction can examine macromolecules and macromolecular complexes in vitro conditions only, tomography permits the study of cell components or small cells in vivo.
Electron Tomography
Electron tomography can be performed either in TEM or STEM (scanning transmission...
Cryo-electron Microscopy01:28

Cryo-electron Microscopy

Conventional electron microscopy (EM) involves dehydration, fixation, and staining of biological samples, which distorts the native state of biological molecules and results in several artifacts. Also, the high-energy electron beam damages the sample and makes it difficult to obtain high-resolution images. These issues can be addressed using cryo-EM, which uses frozen samples and gentler electron beams. The technique was developed by Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson, for...
Transmission Electron Microscopy01:15

Transmission Electron Microscopy

In 1931, physicist Ernst Ruska—building on the idea that magnetic fields can direct an electron beam just as lenses can direct a beam of light in an optical microscope—developed the first prototype of the electron microscope. This development led to the development of the field of electron microscopy. In the transmission electron microscope (TEM), electrons are produced by a hot tungsten element and accelerated by a potential difference in an electron gun, which gives them up to 400 keV in...
Overview of Electron Microscopy01:25

Overview of Electron Microscopy

The wavelengths of visible light ultimately limit the maximum theoretical resolution of images created by light microscopes. Most light microscopes can only magnify 1000X, and a few can magnify up to 1500X. Electrons, like electromagnetic radiation, can behave like waves, but with wavelengths of 0.005 nm, they produce significantly greater resolution up to 0.05 nm as compared to 500 nm for visible light. An electron microscope (EM) can create a sharp image that is magnified up to 2,000,000X.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 10, 2026

Single-Molecule Imaging of Lateral Mobility and Ion Channel Activity in Lipid Bilayers using Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) Microscopy
08:55

Single-Molecule Imaging of Lateral Mobility and Ion Channel Activity in Lipid Bilayers using Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence (TIRF) Microscopy

Published on: February 17, 2023

Electron microscope tomography of native membranes.

Gabriel Péranzi1, Cedric Messaoudi, Leeyah Issop

  • 1INSERM U773, Centre de Recherche Biomédicale Bichat-Beaujon (CRB3), Faculté de Médecine X, Bichat, Université Paris 7, Paris, France.

Methods in Molecular Biology (Clifton, N.J.)
|July 29, 2010
PubMed
Summary

Visualizing low-abundance membrane protein complexes in situ using electron microscopy and tomography offers a solution for studying their function. This approach is particularly useful for understanding mitochondrial protein complexes and their structural variations.

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Visualization of Organelles In Situ by Cryo-STEM Tomography

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Area of Science:

  • Cell Biology
  • Structural Biology
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Membrane proteins are crucial for cellular functions but are often present in low quantities.
  • Their interactions and transient complex formation pose challenges for isolation and purification.
  • In situ visualization techniques are needed to study these challenging protein complexes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To highlight electron microscopy coupled with tomography as a viable method for visualizing membrane protein complexes in situ.
  • To discuss the application of this technique in studying mitochondrial membrane protein complexes and their structural dynamics.

Main Methods:

  • Electron microscopy (EM) coupled with tomography.
  • In situ visualization of cellular structures.
  • Analysis of mitochondrial morphology and protein complex organization.

Main Results:

  • Electron microscopy and tomography enable visualization of membrane protein complexes within their native cellular environment.
  • Mitochondria serve as a model system, showcasing diverse membrane protein complexes in outer and inner membranes.
  • The technique can reveal structural variations in mitochondrial cristae (lamellar to tubular) and pathological morphologies (e.g., vesicular).

Conclusions:

  • In situ visualization via electron microscopy and tomography is a powerful approach to overcome challenges in studying low-abundance and transient membrane protein complexes.
  • This method provides critical insights into the structural organization and functional states of protein complexes within organelles like mitochondria.
  • Understanding mitochondrial morphology changes is relevant for studying cellular pathologies.